Lung Disease & Disorders

Lung Disorders

Problems with the respiratory system impact a large proportion of our population every year.  Common diseases such as colds, flu, bronchitis and sinusitis probably impact virtually every household on an annual basis.  These are referred to as upper respiratory disorders, usually not constituting an ongoing health problem.

Lung disorders that permanently affect our breathing capacity are another matter.  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) may be the most common of these; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute estimates that twelve million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD and that there are probably another twelve million who have the disease and don’t realize it.

COPD is a somewhat generic term for serious breathing difficulties.  Most lung disorders impact the bronchial air tubes and the air sacs that absorb oxygen at the end of those tubes.  Pulmonary symptoms for the COPD include:

• The bronchial airways and air sacs lose their elastic quality.

• The walls between many of the air sacs are ruined.

• The walls of the airways swell to become thick and inflamed.

• The airways create more mucus than usual, leading to clogging.

Two prominent respiratory disorders are usually the chief components of COPD.  Those are emphysema and chronic bronchitis.  Both of these diseases are permanent and grow progressively worse, leading to severe debilitation.

Occupational Lung Disorders

Both emphysema and chronic bronchitis are linked to cigarette smoking.  COPD is therefore associated primarily with smoking, although it may also involve other airborne toxins such as asbestos fibers, chemicals and other hazardous material that can be carried in a dust cloud.

Occupational lung disorders have become more common as industrialization has become the mainstay of our economy.  One hundred years ago it was thought that miners – especially coal miners – were the only workers that developed pulmonary symptoms on the job.  Today the American Lung Association says that occupational lung disorders are the number one work related illness.  Employees in textile mills, in steel mills and auto plants, in chemical plants and in any number of other industrial facilities can develop an occupational respiratory disorder from airborne toxins.

Infectious Lung Disorders

Aside from the common cold, influenza and the usual respiratory disorders passed around each year, there are more serious problems that develop with diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis.  There are examples of lung disorders that are a long time in healing and that require extended bed rest.  With pneumonia in particular, the pulmonary symptoms are common to so many diseases that often pneumonia will go undiagnosed, attributed to a severe cold or lingering flu.  

Bronchitis is an example of an infectious disease that crosses over to a permanent lung disorder when it develops as the result of inhaled toxins and becomes chronic.  It is one of the principal components of COPD and does not heal like bronchial inflammation caused by a virus or bacteria will. 

Diseases of the Lung 

Pulmonary fibrosis is a generic term for dozens of respiratory disorders that exhibit similar pulmonary symptoms.  These diseases are generally non-malignant, not chronic in nature and not caused by infection.  Many are drug induced.  While the totality of symptoms may vary, all forms of this disease group exhibit these symptoms:

• bronchiolitis - inflammation that involves the bronchioles (small airways)
• alveolitis - inflammation that involves the alveoli (air sacs)
• vasculitis - inflammation that involves the small blood vessels (capillaries)

A pulmonary embolism is blockage of the pulmonary artery, which can be caused by fatty tissue (heart disease), by a tumor (cancer) or by COPD.  Blockage of this artery is a life-threatening occurrence, and one that cannot be attributed to any single source or organ.

There are lists of lung diseases that are not covered here but that fill many medical textbooks.  What is important to understand is the fact that many respiratory diseases are caused either by bad habits (smoking, perhaps heart disease) and by exposure to toxins (asbestos and job-related chemicals, gases or fibers). 

Medical and Legal Questions about COPD

COPD can be diagnosed as secondary to asbestos exposure.  If you are suffering from COPD and were ever exposed to asbestos at work or in the home you should consult your doctor about possible asbestos contamination.  You should also speak with an experienced attorney about possible compensation that may be owed to you by the asbestos companies.